Go karts are motor vehicles used for recreational purposes including racing. They are similar to conventional racing motor vehicles, but are generally of smaller scale.
A go kart normally has four wheels comprising pneumatic tires mounted on hub assemblies.
The hub assembly of a typical go kart wheel includes a, generally cylindrical rim with peripheral flanges, adapted for the mounting and retention of a tire, and a central part within the rim. The central part, herein for convenience called the web, may in an undriven wheel accommodate rolling element bearings with inner races adapted to fit on to a stub axle, or in a driven wheel include a mounting flange for bolting to a collar which is secured to a drive shaft.
A generally cylindrical space is defined by an inner surface of the rim, a plane passing through the outboard (that is, remote from the go kart's chassis) peripheral flange of the hub and an outboard face of the web and may be a considerable fraction of a go kart wheel's volume, particularly if the gap between the peripheral flanges is comparable to or larger than the diameter of the rim, as is commonly the case. That is, the wheel may be deeply "dished".
This space contributes to eddying of air and therefore to the aerodynamic drag of a wheel, and may be prone to accumulate grease and road grime0 and, given its small size compared to the corresponding space on a full size vehicle's wheel, be difficult to clean. The present invention may alleviate these problems.
A further problem associated with go karts is that as they operate in close proximity to each other when racing, there is a danger of accidental contact between their wheels, with an attendant risk of injury to drivers. A first go kart driver's visual perception of the position of the wheels of a second go kart close to his own may be enhanced, and the possibility of an accident may thereby be reduced, if the second go kart is fitted with wheels according to the invention.
The invention may be applied to both existing go kart wheels and to wheels of new manufacture.